Characteristics of musculoskeletal disorders and satisfaction with in-house physical therapy clinics in office workers.

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are not properly managed in office workers because of their busy work life. In-house physical therapy is a good way to manage the musculoskeletal disorders in office workers. Despite the numerous advantages of in-house physical therapy, the establishment and research of in-house physical therapy were insufficient.

Objective: The purpose this study was to determine the characteristics of musculoskeletal disorders in office workers and to investigate their satisfaction with in-house physical therapy clinics and the associated factors.

Methods: In this study, 664 office workers who used in-house physical therapy clinics were surveyed for characteristics of musculoskeletal disorders and satisfaction with in-house physical therapy clinics.

Results: Of these office workers, the most common causes of damage were nontraumatic (36.8%) and the most common lesion sites were the neck (30.3%) and lower back (25.6%). In the empirical characteristics of in-house physical therapy clinics, basic thermoelectric treatments were the most common (46.8%). The satisfaction with in-house physical therapy clinic was generally high. In addition, the cause of damage and treatment contents affected treatment-related and functional return-related satisfaction.

Conclusion: In-house physical therapy, including therapeutic exercises and self-management education, is a good system to manage musculoskeletal disorders in office workers.